Love&Ariadne&Arthur
by invisiblereader13
Summary: One shots about Ariadne and Arthur! My first Inception stories. These are a mixture of during the Inception and after the Inception. Read and Review Please! VERY FLUFFY! I'll try to write new stories when I can! I accept Anonymous Reviews too!
1. Contradicting Ariadne

**Authors Note: Hello, this is my first fan fiction story about Ariadne and Arthur. So I hope this goes well. This is going to be short and probably a one shot unless I want to add a chapter or two.**

Ariadne POV:

I was walking up to my hotel room from the complimentary breakfast in my plaid boxers, pink V-neck and purple sheep slippers. I was texting my paranoid mother when I glanced up to see the back of man in a brown suit with black hair slicked back. _Arthur? _I thought to myself. I looked behind me; no one was there. It had been a week since Inception. _There's no way Arthur would stay in the same hotel room as me. He wouldn't risk it. _Continuing down the hallway passed my room, I followed him cautiously and trying to not create any attention. He turned the red corner in the hallway, but when I came around he was gone. I sighed, _am I imagining Arthur is here? Does my subconscious want him to be here with me? It was just one kiss. _I thought angrily but my heart whispered me the truth,_ I wish he was here. _Turning to walk back to my room, I found myself staring at the chest of the man in the brown suit and he wasn't happy to see me.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked me with his arms crossed.

"Um… I was taking a walk… What are you doing?" I asked with my arms crossed projecting the same emotions he was.

"I'm here on business." He said releasing his arms and becoming expressionless. "Why did you follow me?"

"Because I thought you might have a need to talk to me." I said. He was the man at breakfast with his nose in a newspaper hiding his real face. I started to walk back to my room but Arthur placed two fingers on my arms and called my name.

"Ariadne… How have you been? Are you feeling okay? Safe?" He said with his eyes showing concerned.

"Yes, of course. No one knows that I even left Paris. I can still dream too." I said but blushed at the memory of inappropriate dreams I've had about Arthur.

"That is inexplicable. Dreamers that experience falling into Limbo have the tendency to cease dreaming when the wake up." Arthur said, "But you are dissimilar to most dreamers which is the reason I cannot explain why something's affect you and others show no influence on you."

"Am I dissimilarly good or dissimilarly bad?" I asked him.

"I don't know yet," he glanced at his watch. "Take care of yourself Ariadne." And with a nod, he walked away.

* * *

I was bored with drawing buildings on the balcony. The balcony had a concrete floor with a black metal fence lining the edge and if you lean your elbows on it you could see the whole city. It was beautiful during the sun rise and I wished I could watch it with someone. I brushed off that thought and decided that it was time to go out so I needed to shower. Letting my hair air dry as usual, I grabbed a pink cardigan, a white spaghetti strap and a pink and red floral scarf with jeans. Sliding my feet in my red flats and picking up the hotel keys and my totem, I walked out the door. I found 'The Vintage Coffee Shop' across the street from my hotel and went inside for tea. Ordering a green tea with peppermint, I sat down and admired the décor of the shop. The walls were brick with spotlights on historic pictures of the town. Lights were dangling from the ceiling causing a glow to form throughout the room. There were big windows that I could look through over my shoulders showing places to eat outside and the busy street behind them. That's when I saw him again. I picked my tea and ordered a black coffee and stepped outside. I walked over and gently placed the coffee on to his table. Once again, he was hiding behind his newspaper. Deciding to see how much I could push him. I left Arthur's table and walked toward the boutique next door called Strawberry. I searched the back rack full of scarves and kept my eyes out for him to enter the store. Pretending to be focused on the yellow, white and royal blue scarf, I heard the bell signaling a customer's entrance but I didn't look up. The scarf had intertwining line of yellow and blue while it was a white background. I draped the scarf on my forearm and picked up a peacock scarf. The last scarf I chose was a knitted grey scarf with three black stripes on the ends. I gracefully walked over to the checkout counter, noticing Arthur was hiding behind the rack of Maxi dresses and piled the on top waiting for the girl to scan my scarves. I paid with forty dollars out of my back pocket and peered over to nothing as he hid once again.

"Do you want me to call the cops?" The girl said behind the counter.

"Not sure. Why?" I asked her.

"Because he hasn't taking his eyes off you since he walked in here. It's a little creepy." She said putting my receipt in the bag. I didn't say anything more; I just thanked her and left. I walked out and took a sip of my tea. There was book store across the street, continuing the oblivious act. As a car passed me, I saw Arthur in the reflection leaving the boutique and watching my next move. Passing a few shelves before reaching the young adult section, I take another sip of tea and found 'Hourglass' by Myra McEntire. _I remember Helena raving about this book. _Looking up from the book, I saw black hair above the row of books. Ironically, the young adult fiction was placed on the other side of political biographies. Carefully, I walked to the side of the wooden shelf and waited to see if he looked up from the book about Warren Buffett. I took the grey and black scarf out of the bag and tiptoed quietly in to the aisle. He didn't look up from the book when I dropped the scarf on to his shoe and left the aisle. I bought the book and took the last sip of my tea before leaving the bookstore and making my way back to the room.

_I hope he notices the scarf or I just gave up twelve dollars, _Excited for my new peacock scarf, I changed in to dark wash jeans, black knee boots, and a grey leather jacket with the scarf. I had read the book an hour later, irritated that it only took twenty pages before Michael and Emerson make out when they were basically strangers and Arthur took weeks to even kiss me. Standing up from the white couch, leaving the book behind, I decided to order Chinese food for dinner. When I opened the door for the delivery, I saw the scarf tied to the door know but no Arthur in site.

"Thank you." I said to the door man and gave him his tip. I shut the door behind me with the food and the scarf in my arms. Hunger erupted from my stomach causing me to skip getting a plate and eating it out of the carton with chopsticks. I had two fortune cookies laid next me; I open the first one and read it.

'You have a fine capacity for the enjoyment if life'

And the next one said,

'Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow. Look up.'

Confused about the contradicting fortune cookie, I put the slips of paper down and went back to eating my orange chicken. I glanced up to look out the sliding glass door when I saw my fortune. Arthur. With his back to me, leaning on the railing without his jacket and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. That's when I understood the message from the cookie, the first sentence was a paradox and the second was a direction. Getting up, half-falling over the chair, I ran to the door and slid it open.

"Arthur." I said in the doorway. He turned to me with a smile. He leaned his back on to the balcony with his elbows propped up as well and looked at me.

"Ariadne." He said like he was expecting me. I stepped closer to him until we were two feet apart from each other.

"What are you -?" I began to ask but I was interrupted by the feel of his lips on mine. The strict point-man put his hands on my cheeks and pulling me closer. He moved his left hand lower to my neck, his fingers reaching underneath my scarf. Lifting his lips momentarily before he tilted his in the other direction and kissed me again. The butterflies in my stomach had left and now my heart was just beating out of my chest. His right hand left my cheek and found my hip; I lifted my hand to caress his freshly shaved cheek and slide to his neck placing my thumb right next to his ear. We pulled apart breathlessly but our hands didn't leave their positions.

"Arthur? I thought we weren't supposed to see each other." I asked him furrowing my eyebrows.

"A paradoxical fortune. And it was worth the risk." He said as the golden sunlight began to dance on our skin.

"Not 'worth a shot', Point Man?" I teased flirtatiously and raised my eyebrows. But Arthur just smiled and kissed me again while the sunset behind the buildings.

**I am prepared for brutally honest criticism, I know that this is probably awful and you hate it but read and review please. I have written other stories so maybe you would enjoy them more than this one. 'Hourglass' the novel mention in this story is a read book and it is wonderful! You should read!**

**With love, **

**Steph**


	2. Dream or Reality

**Author's note: None of these stories are going to go together. They are going to be a series of one shots. I'm so glad you like my other one. This one is FLUFFY!**

Chapter 2

She's standing on the beach. Her eyes shut; face relaxed and arms out wide. Her brown hair is blows in the breeze as the cold water reached her bare feet in the sand. She felt content and happy as her vanilla perfume greeted the scent of the salt in the air. She heard footsteps approach but she did not turn around to see the creator. A set of strong arms wrapped around her waist and a clean chin rested on her shoulder. She laid her arms upon the ones on her waist.

"You're an architect but you dream of a beach?" He asked her.

"I built this beach." She replied with her eyes still closed.

He could smell her perfume and fought the urge to hide his face in her hair. He straightened his back and turned her to him so they became face to face. Looking at her blue eyes and pulling a strand of hair out of her face, he leaned in to kiss her…

She opened her eyes to brown ones.

"You seemed to be having a very peaceful dream, Ariadne." The point-man said removing the needle from her wrist.

"Yeah, I was." She said lifting her body in to the seated position. She pulled on her gold bandana around her neck and adjusted it back to a comfortable position. She was confused about her dream as she watched the point-man begin to read a book on green energy. Ariadne stood and walked over to her desk cluttered with mazes and join Eames who was already at her table.

"These are quite lovely dear. I hope you added a bloody paradox for Arthur." He said. She glanced around and saw all the other desks vacated.

"Eames?" She asked.

"Yes, dear?" He asked not looking up from the maze.

"Have you ever dreamed of anyone?" She asked and swallowed after.

"I dream of people loads of times, why?" He said.

"Do you think your subconscious just places people in dreams?"

"No, dear. I'm afraid not. Your subconscious places the people you want in your dreams. Whether you want to beat them to death with a hammer or make love to them is the reason why they are there. Who are you dreaming of?" He asked looking at her with an eyebrow raised but she didn't answer as Arthur went over to his desk. "Ah. I see." He said snapping Ariadne's attention back to him. "Sometimes curiosity gets the better of us." And with that Eames walked away from the table leaving her more confused than before.

* * *

Arthur was watching her construct mazes; chewing on her lip in thought and sighing in frustration. Tossing her hair over her shoulder and picking up another piece of her maze. The research for the dream had been long over since their 'tourist' as Eames called him had already given him plenty of information about the subjects. Arthur is putting files of each subject in order, copying them and handing them out to the teammates going under. He can't stop worrying about Ariadne nor glancing up at her and watching her smile at him when she sees him doing it. A paper ball landed on the keyboard of Arthur's laptop. He doesn't have to look up to know who it came from. As he prepares to throw it into the trash, Eames clears his throat. The point-man looks up at the Forger sitting in the chair and begins to flatten out the paper. Inside the ball, Eames wrote a mocking note:

Fancying Ariadne, I see?

Arthur crumples the paper ball and throws it at him causing Eames to laugh. This grabs the attention of the Architect across the room but Arthur hides behind his laptop once more. In confusion, Ariadne leaves her mazes and picks up her carry-all along with her coat.

"Would either of you care to join me for a cup of coffee?" She asks pulling on her grey coat.

"I would love to dear but I must go study Browning a bit more." Eames said, "But Arthur seems to be free to go, you wouldn't mind would you dear? Unless your suit would become too dirty."

"No, I wouldn't mind. I actually could use some coffee." Arthur said picking up his suit jacket. Ariadne walked past Eames first and when Arthur passed, he pushed Eames's chair over.

* * *

Her brown hair was tied up in a bun with curls falling out of its grasp. She was walking across the Ball room in her black strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline. She walked confidently in her nude heels as she made it across the floor.

"Hello Arthur, it's nice to see you." She said approaching him. Arthur was wearing a black tuxedo with his hair in it's usual gelled back style. He handed her a champagne glass in reply and leaned against the bar watching the couples on the dance floor.

"How long do we have before Cobb and Eames return?" He asked glancing after he finished the sentence. She leaned back as if she was stretching and looked to the marble staircase.

"A few minutes." She said returning to her other position. Arthur put his glass of Bourbon back on the counter and held out his hand to her. She smiled and grabbed after finishing her glass and walked across the dance floor. They began to dance slowly, just swaying back and forth with him. They just looked in each other's while they were dancing and never said a word to each other. The music ended and a male projection asked Ariadne to dance. He let her go and watched her eyes try to find his with every turn. She let go of the projection just for a second and grabbed Arthur into a kiss. Eames and Cobb were running down the stairs with a manila envelope as they let go of each other. Arthur was grabbed by Cobb as they fled the ball room and ran until they were hidden in an alley two blocks away.

"Did you get the information?" Arthur asked out of breath.

"Yes, we did. He has a separate account for his other business." Cobb said.

"Great, what is his other business?" Arthur asked.

"He places liquor stores in poverty-stricken towns." Cobb said. Just then did the gentlemen notice Eames, who was smiling at Arthur with his arms crossed on his chest.

"What is it Eames?" Arthur asked to exhausted to play his games.

"A dreamer's subconscious creates projections right?" He said looking between Cobb and Arthur.

"Yes, of course." Arthur said not understanding where this was going.

"And Arthur darling, you are the dreamer this time, correct?" He asked.

"That's correct." Arthur replied. He was beginning to understand where this was going.

"That's quite curious then isn't it? That Ariadne was a projection in your dream…" Eames said walking away. Cobb had disappeared by the end of the conversation. "See you in the real world darling!"

* * *

"Not a word." Arthur said when he woke up but his only response was Eames laughing. He opened his eyes to Eames walking across the room over to the brunette drinking coffee at her desk. He was mentally panicking to act normal as he walked back to his desk but he decided to go outside to clear his head. Arthur didn't want to be in the room when Eames told her anything.

* * *

"So darling, you were asking me about dreaming yesterday?" He said looking over one of her sketches.

"Yeah." She said tugging on her bandana.

"Still having dreams?" Eames asked her.

"Yes, I do but they have become more physical." She said looking over her shoulder for Arthur. Eames raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean 'more physical'? Are you having like…?" Eames started.

"Oh no! Not quite that physical." She said blushing.

"Oh. Sorry dear. I didn't mean to…" Eames said. "But sometimes curiosity gets the better of all of us."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You're not the only one bringing others into dreams. Even the most skillful dreamers seem to have trouble keeping beautiful women out of the dream world. " And on cue, Arthur walked back into the warehouse and Eames went back to his desk winking at Ariadne as he did.

* * *

"Here's the plan," Eames said, "We all pretend were going under but only Ariadne and Arty go under. Got it?"

"Yes but why are we doing this?" Asked Yusef.

"Ariadne and Arthur keep bring projections of each other into the dream world so if we send them down there—" Eames started but Cobb picked up.

"Their subconscious will show each other how they feel and then they will stop creating projections of each other."

"Yes." Eames said.

"Okay. So where do we tell them to meet?" Cobb asked.

"Ariadne has dreamed of Arthur at a beach while Arthur dreamed of Ariadne at a ball. So a hotel with a ballroom and beach view seems the most plausible way for them to meet. But Cobb, you've got to go down there and create the dream. Just hide in a room." The door of the warehouse squeaked open announcing Arthur's return from picking up Ariadne.

"Are we going under?" Arthur asked looking at them in lawn chairs.

"Yes. We're going to meet in the hotel lobby." Cobb clarified. They sat in the lawn chairs and began strapping on their IV's. Then watched their two teammates fall asleep. Eames who sat next to Ariadne took her hand.

"Best of luck, love." Eames said. He got up and stood next to Arthur, "Don't break her heart Arthur. I will kill you." After Eames went back to his desk and sat down.

"Now what Eames?" Yusef asked.

"We wait."

* * *

"Where are they?" Ariadne asked walking down the stone stairs with glass banisters. She was wearing a white sundress that hugged her waist and only exposed her collar bones. Her hair was curled and had natural makeup on. She approached Arthur who was wearing a tan suit with no vest. Just a light blue shirt underneath and khaki pants.

"I don't know." He said. He looked across the lobby and saw a sign labeling the room. It said ballroom. Ariadne glanced out the front door to see a beach out front.

"Arthur." She said walking up to him and wrapped her arm around his in concern. "This dream has been created." He looked around the room, just like she was and noticed what they were wearing.

"How did we not notice what we were wearing?" He asked. They looked at themselves and then each other. She pulled at the ends of her dress wishing it was longer as Arthur tried to straighten his shirt and jacket.

"Who's the dreamer?" She asked looking at the architecture. Arthur noticed the curves of the stairs and the style of the floors.

"Cobb. I think." He said irritated. Cobb was hiding on a roof across the street watching this conversation through the window. The ballroom doors opened exposing Arthur's projection of Ariadne in her black dress.

"Oh, Arthur you've changed." She said kissing his cheek. Arthur looked at the real Ariadne, her jaw dropped and she ran out the front door. Arthur shoved off the projection and ran after her.

"Ariadne!" He yelled chasing her down beach. Ariadne stopped out of breath and pulled off her wedges; sitting in the sand. He stopped when he saw himself in a white shirt greeting her on the beach and hid behind a group of cattails. She looked for the real Arthur and saw no sign of him and began talking to the projection.

"Arthur, why are you here?" She asked.

"I am here because you want me to be here." He replied. He dug his bare feet into the sand.

"But you are already here. I came into this dream with you." She stated watching the waves.

"Yes but you came here with him in this dream and there was a projection of you as well." He said leaning back on his elbows.

"Does that mean that the Arthur possibly wants me here?" She asked him.

"Yes. He does want you here."

"But why doesn't he want the real me? Why does he want a projection?" She asked starting to feel insecure.

"He wants the real you."

"How do you know?"

"I know this because I really want to find his projection of you right now and I know she is the real you in this dream." The projection stood up and began to walk away.

"What should I do then?" She replied and shook the sand off her dress.

"Find him." Projection Arthur said and walked off the beach. Arthur and Ariadne watched the projections of themselves kiss as her projection found him. They smiled at each other and kissed again. Then their projections disappeared together. Arthur stood up looking at Ariadne staring at the spot their projections were standing just a minute ago. He walked up to her without talking to her and took her cheeks in his hands and kissed her without explanation. The beach breeze picked up and whipped her hair back. The sun was sinking beneath the horizon during the kiss and candles floating in the water in the now glowing dream.

"I'm sorry." He said releasing her and turning his back to her, "I should have told you."

"No. We both should have told each other." She said to him. He turned back to her face to kiss her but she stopped him. She put her hand on his chest signaling him to stay where he was. After a minute of walking backwards, she ran towards him and he pulled her to him. He kissed her and held her at the same time. He carried her like a bride to the waves and set her feet down into a wave. He tried to lean into her but she splashed him with beach water and ran away. Arthur chased her down the beach and caught her by the waist. They fell together into the water and kissed. He ran his fingers through her brown hair as she laid her hands on his chest.

"I'm really glad they trapped us here." Arthur said smiling at her.

"I am too. I hope to remember to say thank you." She said kissing him again.

* * *

They woke up and turned to look at each other; they both were wearing big smiles on their faces. Arthur took her hand after they removed the IV's. They heard someone laugh and looked up to see Cobb sitting in the lawn chair and Eames standing behind; both smiling.

"Thank god. Now we can get some bloody work done in this place." The forger exclaimed.

"I will give you guys a few minutes to adjust." Cobb said standing up and walking away.

"Hey, Cobb." Ariadne said sitting forward. He turned back to her. "Thanks." She smiled.

"Yes. Thank you Cobb." Arthur said standing to help Ariadne out of the chair.

"Don't thank me. It was Eames's idea." He said gesturing towards him. Eames stood there with his hands deep in his pockets and a wide grin on his face.

"Thank you Eames," Arthur said giving his hand for Eames to shake.

"I did it for Ariadne if you must know but getting the stick out of your bum is an added bonus." Eames said swatting his hand and leaving. Arthur took Ariadne's hands in his and kissed her once more.

Neither of them bothering to touch their own totems.

**Okay. Here this story, I hope you like how fluffy it was. **

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**Thank you for reading! School starts tomorrow! SENIORS! Ha-ha, kidding.**


	3. A Dream Within A Heart

**Authors Note: Long time no see… any new stories! Sorry! I wrote one! Not my best, but tried. **

The Long Way Home

Ariadne's POV:

The flight was over before I knew it, like it had never even happened. I guess that's the beauty of sleep. I was kind of relieved at this point. All the work leading up to this job was horrible, lengthy and tiring. The more space between the plane and me increase the better I felt. No more getting shot at, studying, training, creating and everything else. Finally releasing a breath that I held in for the past four months and making my way out of the airport with my bags, I noticed a man in a suit holding a sign that read:

**Wife of Dionysus**

Leave it to Arthur to think of that. Thank the gods; my father was an English Literature major. Glancing around before acknowledging my driver, I looked for my co-workers but they were nowhere in sight. I shrugged and allowed the man to pick up my bags. He escorted me to the car. I still didn't see any of them. I felt my totem in my pocket. _Not a dream._ I confirmed. The driver shut the door to the black, tinted windowed Lexus waiting at the curb and walked to the drivers' side. He didn't say a word to me the whole time so I just closed my eyes and relaxed a little while.

I opened my cell phone and had no missed calls. _Strange… _

"Ma'am, where are you supposed to go?" He asked.

"The Hilton Hotel, it should be three miles away." _Why didn't he know where I was supposed to go? _ Lines appeared on my forehead. _Something's not right._ I looked around the car and noticed a magazine rack. All of the magazines were normal, nothing strange about them at first but then I saw a piece of paper sticking out of the top of one. I pulled the Cosmopolitan Magazine out and began to flip through it. Making it to the spot with the extra piece of paper, looking at the driver and rolling up the divider between me and the driver, I prepared myself for the worst.

**Wife of Dionysus,**

**We've been compromised. **

**Leave this cab. **

**There's a gun under the seat.**

**Run and hide yourself.**

**I will come for you.**

**-A**

I took a deep, slow breath and reached for the gun. Arthur had given me a warning but had he known this was going to happen. Did he expect this? The panic began a moment later. _What do I do? I don't know anything about Los Angeles! I don't even have money to even avert plans! _ I opened my purse and check my wallet… twenty bucks. Wait, _what is this? _ I found a white envelope in my bag, opened it and read the flap. One hundred-thousand dollars cash… I could deal with that. Just then the driver slammed on the brakes causing me to hit fly out of my seat. _Ow. _

"Oh! Come On!" The driver yelled. I used this as my golden opportunity and unlocked the car door. As I ran out into traffic the driver yelled. "Hey, get back here! Dammit!" I ran five whole blocks before slowing down and running into a hotel. Out of breath, the woman at the front desk looked a little surprised by my presence and placed a hand on her chest.

"Hi, I would like a room." I asked, placing my bag on the counter. She relaxed.

"What kind? We have rooms, suites, villas and penthouses." She said typing away on her computer.

"Get me a penthouse and, um, rent out the rest of the floor." I said trying to sound tough.

"Okay. Ms. Reynolds, your boyfriend isn't here yet would you like me to send him up when he does?" She said in a nice voice but seemed curious. When I pulled out the envelope, she stared at it a little longer than necessary. Paying her and picking up my one bag, I began to act like I came from money.

"I don't have a boyfriend, but I'm going to need a few things because I'm supposed to lying low, if you know what I mean… so I will send a list." I smiled and flicked my hair back. Hotel Key in hand, the man operating the elevator held the door open for me and climbed in after me. He was silent. He was tall, clean shaven, strong and wearing a green outfit with the hotel insignia embellished on his chest. He avoided eye contact. As we reached my own floor, he finally said something.

"Do you need help with your bag dear?" He asked.

"No. Oh, wait. Do not let anyone on my floor unless they can answer the following question."

"Okay, what is the question?" He asked curious.

"What was 'worth a shot'?" He looked confused as I walked out of the elevator. The doors were closing so he stopped them with his hand.

"Wait, ma'am. What is the answer?" He asked.

"I don't kiss and tell." I said smiling at the memory. He nodded and let the doors close. I looked down the hallway at the three different doors. _They're probably all the same… _I thought and opened the first door. The room was gorgeous. I walked a bright, all white penthouse. I tugged on my bandana and tossed on the table in the foyer. The wallpaper was white with a red rose pattern crawling up the walls. The carpet was soft and white under my small combat boots. The curtains were sheer white but closed. Pulling them apart, I noticed black shades behind them and released them. _What are these for? _I thought. Then I realized that I could see out but no one on the other side could see in. _What an impeccable idea._ I left them down, I didn't care enough. The thoughts of my impending doom crept into my mind after I realized I was alone. The battery had been yanked out of my phone and I had no plan to put it back. No one was going to find me. _Except maybe Arthur, he could find me. _I thought back to our kiss. By this time, I had already jumped on to my back facing up and began staring at the ceiling.

"What does that kiss even mean?" I wondered. "Not that I minded." The scene kept replaying in my mind. I started to get a headache and began to feel tired.

As I began to fade away from the world, my body jolted up right and ran to the front door. There were footsteps approaching. I moved the chain on the latch and placed a chair underneath the door knob. Standing next to the chair, I searched for the creator of the noise. It was elevator boy; he was preparing to knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked after he did.

"My name is Matthew, I operate the elevator? The front desk wanted to know if you've made your list yet, or if you need anything." He asked. I found a notepad in the desk drawer and wrote a list of necessities.

"This is all I will need tonight. You must bring it to me and no one else. Knock four times, three long and one short. Understand?" I slipped the paper underneath the door and he nodded.

"Yes."

"Thank you!" I yelled through the door. He came back an hour later with it. I was really grateful so I gave a two hundred dollar tip. He seemed satisfied with that.

* * *

Six days passed by without communication. I decided that it would be safe for me to have my phone on for less than a minute. Pushing the battery back in and turning it on, my nerves increased. There were messages from my mom, my roommate and… Arthur? I opened it.

**I shut off your phone connection to be safe. **

**If you need to talk to me, hand a note to the kid and**

**Tell him tape it on the bottom of the mailbox in front of the hotel. **

**You can trust him.**

**-A**

_How did he know where I was? _ There was a knock at the door. It was Matthew bringing me a laptop and chocolates. Just as he was to walk away from the door, I yanked him into my room and used my hand to cover his mouth.

"Do you trust me?" I asked and he nodded, still a little frightened. "Good, I know you're Matthew. I'm Ari…" I said trying to cover my real name and see if he had already known it. His expression was blank.

"Okay." He shrugged.

"Can I trust you?" I asked him. He seemed confused.

"I think so." He said.

"Good. Have anyone came into the hotel looking for a girl name Ariadne Reynolds?"

"There was a man the day after you came here. He had black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing—" I interrupted.

"A suit, three piece." I smiled fondly. _Arthur. _"Has he returned after that day?"

"No, but he's been watching the building. Julie thinks he's a dirty cop or something. Why do you ask?"

"Someone is looking for me." I said. I thanked him for the computer and locked my room tight after he left. I turned the computer on and searched the web. There was nothing on there that was useful. I tried to connect clues to things but it didn't help. I closed the lid.

After a month, TV couldn't support my need for the outside world. So I lifted the black shades. At this point, I doubted if people were still looking for me. I took out the notepad and began to sketch building that I could see on the makeshift deck I had. Each day, I chose a new building to draw and change. On the eighth day of drawing, I noticed something difference in the appearance of the city. The buildings seem slightly different. I flipped back through the pages of my notepad. Reaching the third page, I froze in fear and a chill ran down my back causing me to shiver. One of the buildings was missing… I checked my pocket for my totem. I hadn't touched it in weeks. I ran to the foyer where I had it last. That's when the panic really began to set in…

My totem was missing.

"I'm so screwed." I said out loud. I ran back to the deck door and flung it shut, locking it immediately. Pulling down the dark blinds and the rest of the blinds in the room, I ran to the closet where I kept the gun. _This is not good. _I jammed the chair underneath the door and cornered myself into the closet with my cellphone. I tried to breath but I couldn't. _How long have people been watching me? Are people watching me? Where the hell is my totem? I must be in a dream… a horrible dream._ My breathing was rapid along with my heart beat. The room was spinning. Angry footsteps approached in the hallway and doors were being kicked open. _ I am dreaming… _I thought. _They are projections searching for me, but if that is true, whose dream am I in? _Figuring that I had nothing else to lose, I jammed the battery back into my phone, took one breath and texted Arthur where I was praying to be wakened up. The door to my room was kicked open and I jumped. Clicking the safety off on the gun and preparing myself for my eventual death, I continued praying for a miracle. I could hear them searching for me. They were yelling.

"Where is she?" One yelled with a deep voice.

"Hurry up and find her!" Another man said anxiously. Footsteps grew louder as they came into the bedroom and tucked the gun into my boot.

I blinked once.

The door to the closet flew open.

A man with a snake tattoo on his neck dragged me out of the closet.

"Where is he?" He said pointing the gun to the back of my head.

"Where is who?" I asked. I felt like crying but crying only irritates the crap out of people.

"Arthur. Your point man…" He asked cocking the gun.

"I don't know…" I told.

"You are lying… where is he?" He pushed the gun up against the back of my head.

"I don't know."

"Think of a place, where would he be?" He asked. That's when Snake Man gave himself away, he had no idea where Arthur was and he needed me to tell him.

"I don't know. He might …maybe New York? He has money there and family." I said even though I never knew where Arthur came from.

"Good. Thanks, now I don't need you anymore." I heard the gun go off but never felt the pain.

…..

….

…

..

.

I opened my eyes to another hotel room with beige walls and humming of a PASIV next to me. I was soaked in my own sweat. I felt sticky and gross. Sitting up and looking around, I felt for my pocket. My totem was there but it still didn't feel quite right. The weight was off just a little but then maybe it feels different because of my nightmare. There was two quiet knocks on the mahogany door and then someone turned the knob. I saw a tailored suit sleeve through the crack.

"Arthur!" I said jumping up from the bed and almost to his arms. It was the Snake Man. My heart sunk in horror.

"Ah, you wish my dear. But the news only seems to become more disappointing for you." He said. He nodded at the bed where I sat down, extremely depressed.I just kept thinking about Arthur. Where ever he was in this dream, he was not in a happy position. Snake Man pulled up a chair beside me and sat down. "I'm afraid that your dear fellow, Arthur is well, not in good shape. You see, we've been trying to figure out how he gets all of his information but he has yet to give up the secret. So while we were searching his dreams we found that a young lady, who looks remarkably like you, was floating around in his mind. Being as you were his projection, he controlled you and kept you inconspicuously in his dreams but unfortunately, one night his yearnings for you was much too strong and he revealed you too one of our men. My… he certainly loves you dear and so far has done almost everything to protect you." The Snake Man stood up and cleared his throat. He placed the chair back, turned towards me with obnoxious grin on his face and said, "if only you had watched that specific dream of his yourself, you would have seen yourself do things you never thought you were capable of. He really dreamed of… fondly." He said. _Great, Arthur dreamt of me naked. _

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Matthew. My name is Matthew and you should know that." He smiled. "Follow me darling." I didn't bat an eyelash before following him. We walked out the door and into a smoked room. There was a breeze provided by a window being open. A man, that was obviously Arthur, was sitting in an old ripped up chair with a sack over his head.

"Arthur! Are you alright?" I said. His head was trying to find the direction of my voice. I stepped quickly over to him and touched his jaw through the rough cloth. One of the men standing next to the chair was wearing a ski-mask and moved to it off. The duct tape that kept him quiet was quickly peeled off by another man. Arthur just nodded, not even speaking to me but looking deeply into my eyes. The stubble on his cheek was scratching my fingers as I tried to think of a way to convince him that this was just a dream. With the few seconds I had left before I was tied to the chair behind me, I lifted my face to his and kissed him. He obviously hadn't expected this but it was the only way he would I was just a projection.

"I love you." I told and the man forced me to sit in the chair as they tied me. They replaced the sack on to his head and then clasped a hand over my mouth.

"Tell me where it is!" Matthew yelled.

"I don't know where it is!" Arthur yelled. Matthew smacked an accomplice that screamed just like me. He was a forger and stole my voice. "Ari…!" Arthur tried to get out the restraints as I tried to scream.

"Tell me the truth or lose her forever…" Matthew threated and clicked the gun out of safety. My mouth had been filled with cotton and sweat began to build on my forehead. I watched Matthew walk around Arthur's chair. "Darling, I know you don't want to lose her forever. You could spare her. It's perfectly possible, but bloody difficult if you don't give us the information we need." My head spun to look at Matthew, _his voice just sounded familiar for a second. Eames? _ I looked at him and his eyes seemed more familiar to me now. I spit out the cotton when the man in the ski-mask let go to get his gun.

"Arthur, its Eames. It's a dream." I yelled. The gun went off and I was gone.

…..

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…

..

.

I could see that it was dark out without opening my eyes. Where ever I was it smelt musky and it made me wrinkle my nose. I paid attention to my body first and tried to see if I was dead. The floor was cold and hard but smooth as if it was tile. I moved my hand to feel it and heard cloth move with me. I was wearing a dress and make-up and my hair was curled.

"Ms. Reynolds, are you alright?" said a man. I could smell after shave and cologne as he gently took my hand, pulling me up off the floor. "It's all right folks, she just go a little dizzy." Mumbles of people faded away and finally I recognized the voice.

"Ari… Are you going to open your eyes?" My eyes opened to see Arthur looking at me. He was smiling. _That's new. _"Hello beautiful. Are you feeling better?" He asked. I nodded. He was wearing a tuxedo which caused me to look around and notice what everyone else was wearing, including me. My dress was light green and floor length with a strapless sweet-heart neckline.

"Yes. I feel… fine." I answered as I tried to figure out what clever place I put my totem. At this point, I was kind of done with thinking and deciding my next moves. There was only one thing that I wanted to do. I looked up at Arthur who had been watching me curiously the whole and kissed him. I was trying to not seem desperate, in case this was real life, but after all the nightmares I just had. I wanted at least two minutes of happiness before we are all murdered again. He responded to the kiss very gently. He pulled me closer to his body and we swayed as if we were on a dance floor, joining the other couples. We danced for the next twenty minutes and kissed and laughed. Then I heard something inside my own head. _What is it? _ I wondered. _Music… very faint music. _I glanced at Arthur seeing if he heard it too. I could tell that he did because he was looking straight at me.

"I will see you soon Ariadne." He smiled and disappeared leaving me there for about five minutes before the darkness crept over me too.

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I woke up to the all leather backseats of a Lexus. I was just arriving at The Hilton Hotel. I felt very confused and felt my pocket for my slightly hallowed bishop. _It feels right. _ I thought. The driver opened the door to the car and let me climb out. I checked in under my name when I go to the front desk.

"Oh, Ms. Reynolds, your boyfriend has been waiting for you!" She said handing me the hotel room key. Confused, the bell boy and I climbed into the elevator. When the doors finally parted once again, I ran into the arms of a man that I grew to love and kissed him passionately because I knew this time it's not a dream.

**Author's note: Please forgive…. I say it now and I mean it. Sorry. It's 12 am and I have to wake up in five hours. Ugh… If this is terrible, I will edit just write a review and I will fix it ASAP!**

**With Love,**

**Steph**


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